Tag: faith
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Notes on the Use of YHWH and Jehovah
Some are arguing we should never use the name “Yahweh” or “Jehovah” for God, even when the Tetragrammaton was used in the Hebrew OT. My response: What’s the concern here? I don’t see why not knowing the exact pronunciation for the Tetragrammaton matters. We don’t know how lots of ancient words were pronounced. In some…
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Chilton on Western Civ
David Chilton on the blessings of Christian civilization/Christendom: The whole rise of Western Civilization – science and technology, medicine, the arts, constitutionalism, the jury system, free enterprise, literacy, increasing productivity, a rising standard of living, the high status of women -is attributable to one major fact: the West has been transformed by Christianity. True, the…
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Some Notes on Acts 27-28
Some notes on Acts 27-28: *Paul and his shipmates arrive on shore on the 14th day. Whether this is the Sabbath day, the Lord’s Day, or a generic 14th day, doesn’t much matter. What matters is that it is symbolically associated with the Sabbath. *Stoking up a fire on the Sabbath was a capital crime…
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Usury
Ronald Wallace summarizes John Calvin’s view of usury: “For centuries before Calvin’s day, the Church and most other authorities had applied the Biblical condemnation of usury quite directly to commercial practices, and had prohibited loans at interest. Exceptions had been allowed. Interest had been deemed payable, for example, when the loan could be shown to…
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Random Notes on Ephesians
In Ephesians 1:3, Paul tells us God the Father has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” A couple notes on this jam-packed verse: 1. Why are the blessings called “spiritual” blessings? The point is not that they are immaterial or non-physical. They are Spiritual blessings with a capital “S.”…
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Preaching and the Eucharist
I don’t think it’s helpful to think of preaching and Eucharist as in competition for the center of the worship service. They go together, as Doug Wilson says, like cooking and eating. The Word makes us hungry for the meal. The Word and Eucharist work together as inseparable aspects of covenant renewal. Each is incomplete without…
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The Pentecostal Church
I have preached many sermons on Pentecost over the years. Here are some notes that went with my May 27, 2007 sermon: A few notes on Acts 2, with Pentecost coming up this Sunday: V. 46 says that they ate together with glad and generous hearts. There is an overwhelming note of joy. Earlier in…
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Baptism is the Gospel FOR YOU
Baptism personalizes the gospel. Baptism puts your name into the promises of the gospel. Baptism turns, “for God so loved the world…” into “for God so loved Rich…” Baptism makes the gospel yours. Baptism makes God *your* God. Baptism makes the church *your* family. The call to “remember your baptism” is precisely the call to…
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Baptism as Entrance
If you visit my church (Trinity Presbyterian CREC in Birmingham), one of the first things you’ll notice when you come into our sanctuary is that the baptismal font is at the entrance. Here’s an explanation: The placement of the baptismal font at the entry point of the sanctuary is not accidental. It serves an important…
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1 Samuel 24: A Parable and a Paradigm for Our Times
This is a brief follow-up to last Sunday’s sermon. I’d like to develop my thoughts on 1 Samuel 24 more fully later when I have more time, but here are a few notes. The meaning of 1 Samuel 24: David was Israel against for the sake of Israel because he loved Israel. (Alternatively: David was…
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